It is also known to use a fluid, such as water, to rearrange the fibers of a nonwoven fabric to produce a patterned fabric having on its surface clusters of fibers interconnected to each other. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,033,721 discloses the manufacture of patterned nonwoven fabric from a web of natural or synthetic textile-type fibers by directing water onto a sandwich comprised of a spray-diffusing screen belt over the web and an apertured plate underlying the web. The water rearranges the fibers to produce a three-dimensional fabric structure comprising spaced packed fibrous portions of the starting material defining openings arranged in a pattern, and wherein the packed portions are interconnected by consolidated fibers in the form of buds or tufts protruding from the normal plane of the fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706 discloses a nonwoven fabric of randomly inter-entangled fibers in a repeating pattern of localized entangled regions interconnected by fibers extending between entangled regions, which does not use a binder material or the like. The process for making such fabric is described as supporting a layer of fibrous material, e.g., a web, batt, etc. of loose textile staple, paper, etc., fibers, continuous filament, etc., or combination thereof on an apertured patterning member and jetting streams of a liquid supplied at high pressure onto the fibrous material to entangle the fibers and form the fabric. The apertured patterning member may be formed of woven screen or a perforated metal plate, with an open area of from about 10% to 98%. This type process is referred to herein as "hydroentanglement."
U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,462 discloses a non-patterned nonwoven fabric made by supporting a layer of fibrous material on a smooth supporting member and hydroentangling the fibers. The supporting member is, e.g., a relatively smooth screen of sufficiently fine mesh so that the fibers are not rearranged into a pattern dependent on the screen surface. This patent discloses, in Example XIII, a non-patterned, nonwoven fabric of heavy basis weight formed of a tri-laminate having is a center layer of polyethylene terephthalate continuous filament and two outer layers each a web of 70% rayon/30% wood pulp fibers. This trilaminate has substantially no clusters of fiber segments.
Hagy and Austin, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,576 disclose an absorbent elastic nonwoven fabric made of staple textile fibers and/or wood pulp hydroentangled with an elastic web of a thermoplastic elastic polymer. This fabric is non-patterned and does not have spaced clusters of fibers. While such fabric is very satisfactory for use as elastic bandage or the like, it does not have the level of absorbency required for a high performance wipe.
We, however, are not aware of a nonwoven fabric having high performance wiping and fluid retention properties combined with high strength and durability, which is suitable for wiping aqueous films from surfaces. Such a fabric is desirable for domestic and commercial uses as a general purpose wiping cloth. In seeking such a fabric, after a considerable development effort, we have arrived at the novel fabric of the present invention.